Millefiori technique in clay

« Millefiori is an ancient craft technique usually employed with glass. It produces a colored design that is repeated many times, hence the name 'thousand flowers'The technique can be reproduced using Fimo type clay, to decorate vases, lamp bases etc or to create jewelry and beads.The basic principle is to produce 'canes', a term from a glassmaking technique wherein a long coil is formed from other coils.Although it may be a slow process, cane making is satisfying due to the quantity you can make, and the arrangements that can be formed

Step 1. Form two long coils in two different colors (here light blue and mustard yellow). Cut them in two.

Step 2Roll all four lengths (alternating the colors) up in a rectangle of rolled out clay.Smooth out and lengthen this 'cane'.

Step 3Cut the cane in four.Roll all four lengths produced up in another rectangle of rolled out clay (this time in mustard yellow).Repeat step 3, smoothing and lengthing the cane.

Step 4Now make the last cane.Cut the previous cane in four. Regroup the four lengths, placing a light blue length between each of the four and also in the middle, making a total of five lengths.Roll out a rectangle of navy blue clay and smooth and lengthen it until you have the desired diameter.

All that's left to do is cut up into thin slices (using a razor blade, a knife will crush the canes) and place them on the item you wish to decorate. Maybe try a ready-made bead of the same color as the outside of the cane (here navy blue). With six to eight slices, the bead is fully covered.

Decorating a barretteYou know those old barrettes that are so dull you just don't know what to do with them? Problem solved.

Cover the barrette with a rectangle of Fimo clay. Cut away any surplus and smoothen.

Stick the 'slices' of cane side by side on the upper and side surfaces of the barrette.

Smooth and flatten the top and sides with the help of a little roller (e.g a pencil)